Former India pacer Ashish Nehra revealed that all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja could be the first name on the teamsheet for the ICC T20 World Cup next month due to his brilliant performances with the bat as well as with the ball for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. Nehra stated that Jadeja could well be skipper Virat Kohli, team mentor MS Dhoni and head coach Ravi Shastri top choice going into crunch games. He praised the improvement in Jadeja’s batting and while speaking to. Cricbuzz, said, “With the ball too, he was effective. He picked up an important wicket and gave just 21 runs in four overs. He displayed the same type of bowling which he is known for. And as far as batting is concerned, he has done exceptionally well in the last 2 years. He hit Prasidh Krishna for big blows to finish the match. We talk of MS Dhoni, Andre Russell and Kieron Pollard, but even Ravindra Jadeja did the same thing today. He has performed well for CSK and in Tests with the bat. His batting is finally coming along nicely.”

Nehra talked about the role that Jadeja could be asked to play in the T20 WC, which will be dependent highly on the situation and conditions.

“It will become interesting to see whether India include Ravindra Jadeja ahead of them or as a third spinner. I would say that in the situations we have seen till now, he would be the first name on the minds of coach Shastri, captain Kohli and mentor Dhoni when it comes to deciding the XI,” Nehra added.

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Nehra, however, still wasn’t sure how Jadeja will be incorporated in the final XI due to the presence of spin-bowling heavyweights in the squad. However, he said that ignoring Jadeja will be difficult for the team management.

“If you talk about the Indian team he has been used differently. For the T20 World Cup, India have picked five spinners so it remains to be seen. If there is assistance in the pitch then Jadeja is a no-brainer. But if you have a flat pitch, they might play Varun Chakravarthy and Rahul Chahar,” he concluded.